Caioti Pizza – Tujunga Village

Tujunga Village is so much like the neighborhood we lived in Minneapolis. This pocket of super cool shops and restaurants is carved out on Tujunga Ave in Studio City between Moorpark and Woodbridge.

A friend first brought me there for coffee knowing it would be an area I would love. Since then I’ve been drawn back there many times. There is so much love packed into this small area and so many layers of goodness to take in. Take the time to interact with the wonderful store owners and their unique personalities. There is a story behind every shop door. We though we could do just one post on this block, but it can’t happen. Too much to share at once so we’ll start with Caioti PizzaCafe.

THE Crust! Oh, my. Crispy light and thin with inventive toppings. No wonder. The story behind this restaurant is very interesting. Ed Ladu the father of California style pizza started the restaurant back in 1987. His legacy lives on through tradition and this salad that is also legendary. They call it “The Salad”. The day Teri and I had lunch there we noticed more pregnant women there per capita. Our curiosity got the best of us and we questioned our very friendly waitress about it. She then showed us “the book” which all pregnant women sign when they come in and then hopefully come back in to tell the story of what “the salad” did for them. *Note the picture of the cute very pregnant woman and her sweet mom above. Her mom had just flown in from Michigan to be there for the birth.

My husband and I had a date night there recently. Wonderful place for an inexpensive meal with great flavor. I could tell they do a lot of neighborhood business and take out. They don’t serve wine or beer and a good glass of red would go nicely with the pizza, so take out isn’t a bad idea.

Watch for more posts about this very cool neighborhood you’ll want to visit. Such unique LA neighborhood. I just love it.

Teri’s Take

I’ve been trekking over to Tujunga village since the late 80’s. First of all the houses surrounding the area are divine! It’s an older (for the Valley), upscale enclave with charming homes full of character. I seriously could have just walked the neighborhood streets and been completely happy.

Tujunga Village itself is a great place to find a unique gift or hang out and have a cup of coffee with friends. There are a lot of outstanding restaurants, but Caioti’s was one I had not yet checked out, so when Kelli and I decided to grab a bite we were immediately drawn to Caiotis. Word on the street was that Caioti’s was started by one of the original creators of the California Pizza Kitchen style pizza. This perked our interest, along with the fabled Pregnancy salad.

The food, decor, service were all spectacular! We were very happy. Plus as Kelli said, the pregnant ladies sauntering around was such a happy side feature. We chatted with a soon to be mom and her mother for a few minutes. The pregnancy book was just wonderful. To think of all the notes, memories and celebrations that have been jotted down in this journal is just so joyous and happy!